My First Blanket

I was up way too late last night, but I finished the blanket! I was so close to being done that I just kept going until it was finished. I may have been a bit too tense on the binding off, and I even used a larger needle, but I suspect there was some "I'm almost done!" excitement happening. Here's the result, spread out across the bed:

Now I'm trying to decide what to make next. I suspect I'll get twitchy without something to do while I watch TV. I may make one in a color that coordinates with the living room to use on the sofa in the summer when the fan's necessary to keep the room from being stuffy but when the fan blowing on me can be a bit chilly. The open pattern gives just enough coverage while still allowing air circulation. I suppose this assumes that I get around to replacing the living room ceiling fan this year. I may also make some kind of shawl or wrap for indoor use in overly air conditioned locations. I have this huge pashmina type thing, but it's a bit unwieldy. I need something that's just big enough to throw over my shoulders.

We discovered one solution to the crazy kids last night: we switched kids. The preschool teachers took my kids for a while and I took theirs, and both of us later were talking about how the other kids were so good and well-behaved. I couldn't believe that this was the same group I'd snapped at when they insisted on crawling on the floor and doing everything as though they were animals. The teenager who helps in the other group is in the drum line at school, and he'd brought his practice drums to teach about percussion, so we swapped groups out to let my kids do it, too. I may propose we do something similar for the next few weeks so we don't go insane. The preschoolers are awfully cute. The kids usually call me "Miss Shanna" or "teacher," but one little preschool boy calls me "lady," and not in the "Yo, lady!" sense. He sounds very chivalrous as he looks up at me and sweetly says, "Hi, lady!" I'll have to think of something we can rotate on, but mixing things up seemed to have some kind of magic powers. We just have four classes left, and then the sharing program for the parents. I may survive without harming any small children, but it may be a close call.

Though I did have a mildly creepy/cute moment. When I was getting in my car afterward (the adult choir didn't rehearse last night, so I was leaving at the same time as the kids), a mom was putting a toddler -- I'd guess somewhere between one and two, still very baby-like, but talking -- in the car seat. The baby pointed at me and said, "Mama!" She got very excited and kept repeating it, even though her mother was right next to her. It was like something you'd see in a horror movie, where innocent-looking children suddenly start saying things that turn out to be true even though they couldn't possibly know that. Not that there is any danger whatsoever that I'm actually a mother. But the weird thing is, this happens to me often, where small children who are total strangers will call out to me as "Mama" or "Mommy." For instance, there's a preschool/day care center along the walking path that goes to the library, and the playground is beside the path. More than once, as I've walked by, a child will run to the fence and call out "Mommy!" as I pass and then start crying. In that case, I figure I may bear a slight resemblance to their mothers that makes them think when I approach that their moms are coming to get them. I don't know what set off the kid last night, since she was with her mother while she was rather frantically calling me "Mama." If I were Stephen King, I'd get a book out of this.